Liesl Rewrite
by blackrider11
Summary: This is an edit/rewrite of my fic about how others view Liesl. Some changes will be obvious, others minor. The original was written in 12 days spread out between 5 weeks and was quite rushed, I'm hoping that this will prove better and less muddled than the original (it will be left up for comparison purposes). Feedback approved. Dedicated to Coolio. I hope one proves better.
1. Gretl

Disclaimer: I own nothing about these people's lives, the fact that The Sound of Music is already mostly fiction makes it so I do not feel bad about doing this. I do not own, nor wish to own The Sound of Music rights, even though the music is quite enjoyable. I'm not trying to make the people whose lives this is based on seem insignificant or the hardship they went through any less important. But the fact remains that The Sound of Music, is naught but a very, very loosely based story that makes a fantastic musical.

Interpretation: Partially script based, movie based, director conversation based, with a little bit of research thrown in.

A/N: As far as I know the mother died 4 years prior to the play. Making Gretl effectively around 1 when she died.

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Gretl (Age 5)

Gretl ran through the dark to the other side of their shared room and jumped into the bed. She had known that Liesl wasn't there but she had reacted out of habit. She had never known any other mother figure besides her sister. She never felt as though she needed one either. Her sister was her caretaker, the one that kept the family from falling apart. She barely knew her father and all the other governesses were always occupied with her older brothers and sisters.

No one seemed to have the time to spare for her, except for Liesl, and on some occasions Friedrich or Kurt. But it was always Liesl who cared for her. Her sister held her hand when she was nervous, hugged her when she cried, cared for her when she was sick, carried her when she was tired, taught her the alphabet, scolded her when she was bad, and praised her when she had done something good. So Gretl, despite never knowing her mother, had never felt deprived of a mother's warmth.

Gretl had one memory of her mother, if it truely was one and not a dream, of a warm voice singing her to sleep. There was never a face, but she could remember if she closed her eyes and concentrated the sound of voice that was similar and yet different from her sister's. Once in a while she wondered, as young kids sometimes do, what her mother was like. Her father had removed all reminders of her. But she couldn't even imagine a world without Liesl caring for her.

The lightning flashed and Gretl buried herself under the covers. Please, please let Liesl come back soon, she prayed. The dark seemed to be closing in and it was getting scary.

"Liesl," she tried to call for her sister, but it only came out as a terrified squeak as the lighting traced across the sky and the thunder shook the windows. The next bout of thunder and lightning drove her from Liesl's bed to the next safe place she could think of.

Maria's bedroom.


	2. Marta

Disclaimer: I own nothing about these people's lives, the fact that The Sound of Music is already a mostly fiction based tale makes it so I do not feel bad about doing this. I do not own, nor wish to own The Sound of Music rights, even though the music is quite enjoyable.

Interpretation: Partially script based, movie based, director conversation based, with a little bit of research thrown in.

A/N: This one has quite a few changes in the writing. Hope it's enjoyable.

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Marta (Age 7)

Marta could be described as many things, a young girl, a quiet girl, an undemanding girl, and for the most part a good well behaved girl. The last one is not true, she just happened to seem like an angel compared to her other siblings. This caused isolation for her, their governesses' tended to ignore her because she wasn't as much of a handful as the others. But sometimes, once in a while, very rarely she would do something that was considered bad. And for a little while she got attention, not good attention, but attention nonetheless. And when you're four, five, or even seven, you want to be talked to, played with, to an extent you're even willing to be yelled at because it means that someone knows you exist. When Kurt wasn't running around with Louisa, he spent time with her and she liked it. He could always make her laugh. But when she did get into trouble, she preferred that it was Liesl that reprimanded her. It made her feel like this might be what it was like to have a mother. It was selfish of her because she knew Liesl tried to make time for all of them and by forcing her attention away from the others to pay attention to her was not something that an onlooker would think Marta was capable of.

She loved the nights when Liesl would sneak out of the room she slept in with Gretl and came to the room she shared with Brigitta and Louisa. They would all pile onto Louisa's bed and Liesl would tell them stories. Sometimes they were memories about their father and mother, other times they were stories she read, occasionally, and these were Marta's favorite, Liesl would make them up. On those nights, Marta, and sometimes Louisa would interrupt with a story idea. Liesl would listen and then add the ideas to the story. Sometimes just for a challenge they would ask for the most ridiculous things they could come up with to try to make her oldest sister pause, but she never did.

Her favorite story ever told and asked for was the one about a young girl and a falling star. It was a short simple story, about a girl who had been looking at the night sky one evening and a star fell into her hands. When she opened them there was a small injured female named Étoile. She was the princess and had been exploring the outer reaches of her kingdom without paying attention to the warnings of her family. The young girl nursed back to health and they became friends. The small person was grateful but there came a time when she was summoned back home. She promised that she would tell her people about the kindness she received on Earth and that from then on, should there be a falling star that is traveling to Earth that the young girl should make a wish. And they would do everything in their power to make it come true. Since that story, she would search the sky every night looking for a falling star. She had so many wishes, she didn't know which one she would choose if she saw one.

That all changed because of one incident. Nobody liked to talk about it but the event was etched clearly into Marta's memory.

xxxxx

_It had been a week since Liesl had come to their room and it took not small amount of courage for Marta to brave the dark scary hallway to make her way to Liesl's door. She was going to ask for Liesl to come and tell them her stories. That was all she wanted. She should have known that the vase was there right outside Liesl's door but she ran into it all the same._

_The sound of it shattering echoed loudly tore through the silence and seem to be magnified by darkness surrounding her. Liesl was the first one there and wasted no time turning on the light. She kneeled onto the shards as she looked Marta over for injuries. Louisa and Brigitta made it into the hall next with Kurt and Friedrich just a few moments behind them. Gretl was still asleep or maybe Liesl had told her to stay in the room. When the governess finally came, she demanded to know who broke the vase, she didn't even bother to ask if they were ok._

_"It was me," Louisa told the governess with a tremor in her voice. Marta was terrified not only because of the uncharacteristic hitch but also Louisa was quite clearly trembling._

_"Is she telling the truth?" The governess had asked as she turned her head sharply towards Brigitta. "Answer me," she barked when the answer wasn't given right away._

_"I didn't see anything," Brigetta had admitted, Marta saw the subtle glance toward Liesl._

_"Since you insist," the governess had said in a voice that suggested that she just wanted a victim. She advanced upon Louisa who was backing away and suddenly Liesl's arms were replaced by Friedrich's. Still supportive but not nearly as comforting._

_"I told her to do it," Liesl told the governess as she slid herself between the outstretched hand and Louisa. Any one of the children could have told you it was a ridiculous claim but the governess didn't seem to care as she took Liesl by the ear and led her down the hall. Marta was about to protest but Louisa covered her mouth before she could say a word. Liesl seemed to be mouthing something that Marta couldn't understand as she was dragged out of sight._

_Louisa and Brigitta took her back to their room, and Kurt tucked her in, everyone was tense and she couldn't seem to understand why. Long after the boys had left and her sisters had fallen asleep, Marta crept out of bed and pressed her ear against the bedroom door. She dared not go out again but she stayed there listening for Liesl's return until she fell asleep._

_After that it hadn't been the same, Liesl was gone for a full three days and it took the combined efforts of her siblings to take care of Gretl. For three days, the guilt of Liesl taking her punishment grew and when Liesl finally returned, she could barely speak. The guilt lingered despite Louisa assuring her that it wasn't her fault._

xxxxx

Before Marta had no idea about which wish she wanted to ask to come true. Now it was all to clear. There was just one, one that she desperately wanted. Possibly the most simple but the most impossible wish she had ever had. That they could all be happy.


	3. Brigitta

A/N: Small changes here, clearer, little more detail, grammar and some spelling fixed, a bit of a disconnect between the beginning and the end but I like it better.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Brigitta (Age 9)

Liesl was crying by the water, Brigitta could hear her weeping even though her sister was trying to keep quiet. She wasn't sure what to do because she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Liesl cry. Was it their mother's funeral? She honestly couldn't say. She'd seen Friedrich cry more recently than her sister; he had broken down in tears just last month. She was at a loss for what to do for her favorite sibling. It wasn't that she didn't like the others, she loved them, but everyone had their favorite relative.

In fact, Brigitta could tell you who almost everyone's favorite sibling was if you just took the time and asked her. Some of them were unlikely, like Kurt's. His favorite person was Marta whose smile, he had secretly confided to Liesl not knowing Brigitta was reading nearby, was the best reward anyone could ask for because they were so few. Marta's favorite was Kurt for that very reason; he could always make her smile even on a bad day. Friedrich loved to spend time with Gretl. Louisa's was Kurt, although few would ever be able to tell because of how much she picked on him. Gretl's everyone always seemed to assume was Liesl, but Brigitta could tell you that it was not true because to Gretl, Liesl was her mother figure. Gretl's was really Marta, Brigitta didn't know why, perhaps it was that she was closet in age or because Marta was now taking the time to pay attention to their youngest member. And her favorite was Liesl, she could tell anyone that confidently.

Liesl though, had her stumped. Her elder sister tried very hard not to have a favorite, and despite all the observations Brigitta had made, she had no way of knowing who was Liesl's favorite or even if she had one because Liesl had a way of showing she loved each of them differently. And now she was crying, by herself, not letting anyone give her comfort. And despite all the reading that Brigitta did, she had no idea how to console anyone because that was what Liesl did. It wasn't what Friedrich or Louisa did, it wasn't the governesses that pass through their house, it wasn't the people that her father hired, even if they tried Brigitta doubted that any of them would come close to the comfort Liesl gave. Liesl who held them close when they cried, it didn't matter if it was a scrapped knee or their mother's funeral. Brigitta couldn't understand why Liesl was crying on her own since Liesl had told her that it was ok to cry and share it with someone.

She had been told this a week after their mother's funeral when Louisa grabbed her by the arm and dragged her over to their older sister. Louisa had turned to her and practically demanded that Brigitta tell Liesl that she was alright. She wanted to; she desperately wanted to lie because Liesl looked worse than she had ever seen her. Her hair wasn't kept and her dress looked like it hadn't been changed for days. But the moment she opened her mouth to try to lie, the pit in her stomach grew, her hands began to shake, and not a sound escaped past her constricting throat. Liesl just closed the space and hugged her giving the comfort she didn't know she had desperately needed. That was one thing they had in common, Liesl just couldn't lie, unless it was to protect her siblings. That was the day that Liesl had told her it was ok to cry, and not to worry. Somehow, Brigitta knew, having Liesl around made not having their parents there bearable for all of them.

There were times when Brigitta envied Marta and Gretl because they couldn't really remember their mother. They didn't remember that they had a father that didn't treat them coldly, one that once encouraged them to have fun, learn, sing, and never stop trying to find a dream to follow. It was cruel to remember what it was like before, but at the same time there was nothing in the world that could make her give up the few memories she had. She wouldn't even trade the one of the worst day of her life for anything, the day her family broke into pieces, she wouldn't give that one up because it would be the last time she saw her mothers face.

When their mother had died, they had all put on a brave face for their father, for each other. That day her two younger siblings were being watched at home by Frau Schmidt, who even though she had been given the day off had volunteered to watch them. She barely remembered the service but it was no doubt the best money could buy. Her father that they all adored stony faced, the only clue that he was crying was the tear stains that were leaving trails down his face. Friedrich stood next to him sniffling, trying to be like their father but failing miserably. Liesl had held her, Kurt and Louisa while they all grieved in their own way. It was in that moment, that reality truly hit Brigitta, there was no doubt in her mind that everything she knew was going to change, she just didn't realize how soon.

The next day when their father called them together Brigitta knew something was wrong. Her father was not smiling; in fact he looked, if Brigitta had to describe it now she would say stern, but at age five, she only knew that he was scary. He scared her, their father never scared her before, and he was always quietly happy and smiling whenever they were around, but no more. He pulled out his whistle and told them that they would answer to this instead of their names, and he drilled it into them, if they messed up he yelled. Father had never yelled at them before, not for any kind of infraction. Now, Brigitta could plainly tell even then, that this was a different story. Over the next week, he tested and tested them making sure they answered to and only to the whistle. As soon as he could call any of them with a whistle he was gone, replaced by a woman that they didn't know. He didn't even introduce her, Frau Schmidt had done that, she wasn't the worst governess they would have, she wasn't the best either but she just couldn't cope with seven children. Especially since it was so soon after the loss of their mother and there were also two which required near constant attention due to their age. It's not like Brigitta tried to cause trouble for the governesses, sometimes the things she noticed just spilled out. It didn't help that she just couldn't lie not even if she wanted to.

Too many children and not enough time caused their studies to fall behind. It was evident that the governess couldn't handle all of the problems that come with watching seven children, and slowly Liesl began to pick up the slack. Friedrich could learn on his own but there were still times when he went to Liesl with questions about certain subjects he didn't quite understand. Louisa was fine as long as she had someone to keep her on track, Liesl did that through bribery. Kurt had some trouble with math and history, and the other two were too young to begin their studies properly. The one that was the most trouble was her. He mother was going to teach her how to read and they had just started lessons but when their mother had died, the lessons stopped, and she hadn't made much progress in that area since then.

She didn't want to be a bother so she would pick up a book and stare at it hard, willing the letters to make sense. Liesl had caught her at it one day and asked her if she was having trouble. She wanted to lie, she wanted to say that she could handle this on her own but when she opened her mouth nothing came out. Brigitta tried again, was it hot in the room or was it just her? Liesl said nothing as she came down and looked at the book she had been gazing blankly at. Liesl picked up the book she was staring at _Die Waffen nieder!_ and picked it up. She had shook her head at it and told that she had picked one of the most complicated books in the library to read. Brigitta watched as Liesl made her way over to another shelf to pick a book. Her sister had made her way back with _Gerlachs Jugendbücherei_ and had settled down next to her opening it. By the time the bell had tolled noon, they had gone through not only that book but two more. They would have read more than the three if Brigitta hadn't kept asking question after question. She would return to read _Die Waffen nieder!_ years later on the day Maria would arrive and it would be the book she secretly took with them when they fled Austria.


End file.
